It's been a year since George R.R. Martin last gave an update on his upcoming novel, "The Winds of Winter." But that has all changed since Martin responded to a fan's comment on one of his blog posts.

Fans have been waiting a long time for Martin's next installment in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" novel series. "The Winds of Winter" has suffered from numerous delays, and the last time Martin provided an update on its status was January of last year. It has been made apparent that fans are not pleased with this, especially since HBO's live adaptation of Martin's work, "Game of Thrones," has already gone beyond the novels' content.

One fan took to one of Martin's recent posts on his LiveJournal blog to comment on the lack of updates. "You have placated our hunger with another superb sample ch. (the Forsaken), and for that, we are grateful," the fan wrote. "But unless you want to be bombarded with im's like this, I would suggest another [update]."

The comment caught Martin's attention and the author replied, saying he will "try it your way" after telling the fan that "statements like that" don't really "make a difference."

"Not done yet, but I've made progress. But not as much as I hoped a year ago, when I thought to be done by now," Martin continued in his reply. "I think it will be out this year. (But hey, I thought the same thing last year)."

Of course, fans should take the author's words with a grain of salt since he seemed to be mocking the commenter's words. Regardless, many are hoping that "The Winds of Winter" arrives soon. There may even be a surprise in store for fans as rumor has it that the upcoming novel may be simultaneously released with the last installment in the series, "A Dream of Spring."